4-year-old boy ID'd after being killed in front of parents in Lancaster road rage shooting
LANCASTER, Calif. (KABC) -- A 4-year-old boy has been identified after being killed in a car-to-car shooting in Lancaster that authorities said was prompted by road rage.
A GoFundMe page said the young victim's name was Gor Adamyan, a "vibrant" boy "whose life was tragically cut short."
"On that fateful day, as Gor's parents were en route to purchase groceries, an encounter with a suspect driver escalated into an unthinkable tragedy," the statement on the fundraising page said.
Eyewitness News met with a spokesperson for the victim's family on Monday who said she is outraged with such senseless act of violence.
"Fight against this violence and killing ... stop murdering and shooting," she said. "We want our kids to go to school and come back safely ... go play outside and come back safely. Like, drive or go to the market or visit friends [and] come back safely."
According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, two suspects allegedly chased down Gor's family Friday night and unleashed a barrage of gunfire on their vehicle.
The shooting occurred after the assailants allegedly cut off the family's car on a highway, authorities said.
"It's unimaginable. This could have been any of our families. It could have been any of us," Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris told ABC7 in an interview.
A 29-year-old man and a 27-year-old woman were arrested and booked at the Los Angeles County Jail on suspicion of murder, the Sheriff's Department said. They were later identified as Byron Burkhart and Alexandria Gentile.
"This isn't going to be the last 4-year-old to get shot down," said Parris. "The reality is that people have to be held accountable when they commit the lower-end crimes because if you don't catch them then, then you're dealing with dead children."
The confrontation began around 7:30 p.m. Friday as the victim's family was driving on Sierra Highway and encountered the suspects in traffic, according to investigators.
"During the incident, the suspect driver cut them off and then began following them through several surface streets," the LASD said. "While being pursued by the suspects, the victim driver slowed his vehicle, at which time the suspect driver pulled up along the passenger side of the victim's car and began shooting."
A bullet was fired into the family's car and hit the child, who was in the backseat, in the torso, authorities said.
Gor's father and mother, who were in the vehicle, rushed him to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. The boy's parents were not injured.
Investigators were able to identify and track down the suspects within hours through the use of crime-fighting technology the city of Lancaster installed earlier this year, according to Parris.
ABC News contributed to this report.
